BLACKSBURG - Just minutes before boarding a bus for their NCAA Regionals at Knoxville, three Virginia Tech softball players learned they have been named to the NFCA All-Northeast Region Team. Angela Tincher and Charisse Mariconda were named to the first team while Jenna Rhodes was named to the second team.

For Tincher, it marks her fourth appearance on the all-region squad and her third on the first team. She joins catcher Megan Evans as the only players in tech softball history to make the all-region team four times in a career and becomes the first to make the first team three times. Tincher, a senior from Eagle Rock, Va., is 33-6 with a 0.57 ERA and nation-leading 571 strikeouts. She was named the ACC's Pitcher of the Year for the third time last week.

Mariconda was named to the All-ACC first team last week and now earns her second all-region honor. She made the second team as a freshman in 2006. The junior from Hollywood, Fla., leads the Hokies in batting at a .368 clip and is 17-for-17 on stolen bases. Mariconda made the squad at the third base position.

Rhodes makes the squad at the non-pitcher/utility position. Due to her number of starts at three different positions (25 DP, 16 RF, 14 CF), the junior from Broadway, Va., had to be nominated at this position instead of her customary designated player spot. The second-team All-ACC performer is hitting .324 with a school-record 40 stolen bases.

Tech, ranked 16^th in the country at 44-15, opens NCAA play Friday at 2:30 p.m., against third-seeded Louisville at the Knoxville, Tenn., Regional. The University of Tennessee is the No. 1 seed in the region and the No. 13 national seed. The Lady Vols will open with Winthrop Friday evening.